Hatikva
by Blackthornhiei
Summary: Heero is in a coma... *wow, that's new*, he wants to die, but his gundam won't let him. I suck at this, don't I?
1. Prologue

Disclaimers: You all know them, so I won't bother. I don't own Gundam   
Wing.  
  
This fic takes place seven months after Endless Waltz.   
  
HATIKVA (prologue)  
  
Heero was free. Free from the orders, the killing and the hurting.   
He was free to do as he wanted, and all he wanted to do right now was   
die.  
  
He wasn't the least bit religious. Yet he believed that neither   
Heaven nor Hell would want him. And he didn't care what happened to   
him as long as he was allowed to see her again one last time. To make   
sure that she was happy.  
  
"Are you lost?" He heard a well remembered voice call him.  
  
He opened his eyes, surprised to find himself lying on the grass   
of the park, with her smiling down at him, just like the first time.  
  
He sat up and looked away. "I've been lost since the day I was   
born." He repeated, wondering if was going to have to see her die   
over and over again.  
  
"Do we have to go through this again?" She said as she sat down   
next to him. Mary barked to catch his attention, then climbed on his   
lap.  
  
Heero looked at the puppy first, then at the girl. "What do you   
mean?" He asked.  
  
"I mean that once was bad enough for you. You still haven't been   
able to forgive yourself." She looked down at Mary, "The worst thing   
is that you're unable to see the blame in others, only in yourself."   
Her eyes moved up to his, "Think back. The Leo that crashed into my   
home, was it there when you planted the bombs? It wasn't. Someone   
moved it there."  
  
"I was taught that if a mission failed, I would be the one to   
blame."  
  
"Stop it!" The girl said, "The man that forced you to believe that   
is dead. YOU killed him!"  
  
"I did... but..." Heero shook his head, "I- I killed Dekim   
Barton... I shouldn't have..." His body started shaking as his mind   
recalled the events that had brought him to this state.  
  
The girl slapped him and he was brought out of his shock. As he   
stared at her, she looked angry.  
  
"I know you refused an order!" She said sharply, "At that moment   
you were facing two conflicting orders. You can't bring any harm to   
Dekim Barton. You must obey and protect any member of the Barton   
family at all costs, even if it means your life." Her gaze softened   
as she took his hand. "But there was an order for those situations.   
One of which you know nothing about, but it's implanted in you; if   
you ever face conflicting orders, follow your emotions. And that's   
what you did. Protecting Mariemaia was more important in your heart   
that Dekim's life was. You killed him because you knew that if you   
didn't he would return to hurt the two of you again."  
  
Heero felt confused. Though everything the girl said made sense,   
it still didn't convice him.  
  
"How do you know about my implanted orders?" He asked softly.  
  
"When we first met, my name was Hatikva. It means Hope in Hebrew,"   
the girl smiled gently, "But know you know me as Wing ZERO."  
  
****************************************  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Well? What do you think? This is my first GW fanfic. I took some   
ideas other sources, one from Gundam Blue Destiny and one from The   
Vision of Escaflowne. There's a bit of Robocop here,too. See if you   
can guess which I took from which, when I write the first chapter. 


	2. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Chapter 1  
  
"Wing!?" Heero turned to her, surprised.  
  
"Yes," Hatikva nodded. She handed him Mary's leash and stepped back.  
  
She was coccooned by a brilliant light that materialized into a pair  
of silver wings. When she opened them, she looked older, about Heero's  
age. Her armor-like clothing had the same patterns and colors as the  
Wing ZERO, and she didn't have one pair of wings but two, just like the  
Gundam,  
  
"You're not real." Heero whispered.  
  
"I am real," Hatikva/Wing replied, kneeling once again next to the  
boy and taking his hand. "The Gundam is my physical body now, and this  
is the physical manifestation of my soul." She smiled gently.  
  
Heero shook his head in confusion. He was not dead, that was for  
sure. His body was probably lying in a coma in the L1 Preventers  
Hospital, with his mind trapped in a halucination caused by his desire  
to see her alive and atone for his sins.  
  
"How can you be real?" He asked softly. He wanted to know the truth,  
but he was afraid that if he did, she would dissapear from his life  
forever.  
  
Hatikva/Wing lay down on the grass with her hands under her head.  
Her large wings didn't seem to bother her a bit.  
  
"Don't ask me how it happened," She started, "I was in my room when  
the explosion started. I realized that you had been the cause and  
wondered if you were going to be alright." She turned to look at him.  
"Then there was this crashing noise. Next thing I knew, I woke up to  
looking down at Quatre taking care of you in that mobile suit  
airlock."  
  
"I remember that Wing's eyes lit up when I looked up at it." Heero  
said. "Now that you mention it, Quatre once told me that there was  
something that made Wing ZERO different from the other Gundams. And he  
wasn't talking about the ZERO system, since he also felt the same way  
about Altron." He turned to look at her, "Does it mean Altron's like  
you?"  
  
"Meiran's a great person once you get to know her. Her sense of  
justice is more flexible than Wufei's." Hatikva/Wing continued her  
explanation. "She was reborn in Shenlong and Altron simply because she  
refuses to leave her husband's side. I was reborn as Wing ZERO because  
I wanted to see you again, to protect you."  
  
"That's all nice," Heero said, "But you still haven't explained how  
you know about my implanted orders."  
  
"Didn't Quatre tell you?" Hatikva/Wing asked. One glance at Heero's  
blank look on his face told har that Quatre hadn't said anything. "You  
and I are bonded, unlike Wufei and Meiran. And the cause of that is the  
ZERO system. It happened when Nichols forced you to pilot the simulator.  
I remember you became confused by what Quatre had told you the evening  
before. The ZERO system took hold of you in that confusion, but it  
also allowed me to bond with you. It was because of the bonding shock  
that you were able to see what you were doing. The nausea you felt and  
the yellow glow Quatre saw were only side effects."  
  
"So if I hadn't been shocked out of it, I would have stopped only  
after I realized I had killed Quatre?"  
  
"Right." Hatikva/Wing answered, "But there's more. If something  
happens to you, I feel it. And it goes both ways. So when you were in  
the hospital after the Mariemaia incident, your body started to heal  
only when the Preventers started my repairs under Sally's and Quatre's  
orders."  
  
"If you are destroyed, I'll die." Heero realized, "And if I die   
you'll cease to function." He lay down on the grass and looked at the  
clouds. "I like it here. So peaceful. And so different from the life I  
had"  
  
"I created this place in your mind using the ZERO system and your  
memories."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I wanted to talk with you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I want you to come back with me."  
  
******To be continued.......  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers 


	3. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.2  
  
Sally stepped out of the elevator and unto the hospital's fourth  
floor. She had been retuning to her apartment after her shift when she  
got a call from Quatre, informing her that Wing ZERO had activated  
itself. After having gone to the hangar to find no explanation for  
the activation, she had decided to visit her patient to see if there  
was any change.  
  
She found Une standing outside the door of Heero's room, looking  
inside, at the girl sitting next to the unconscious boy.  
  
"She still refuses to leave him." She said to the former OZ   
colonel.  
  
Une nodded, "After all, their training was similar, and supervised  
by the same man. She's the only one that truly understands him." She  
shook her head in disgust. "What kind of twisted mind would turn  
children into weapons..."  
  
"Mariemaia's a weapon too?" Sally asked, surprised.  
  
"She's Dekim's Weapon Zero-two," Une answered, "Operation Meteor  
would start with the colony drop. With the chaos it would cause,   
Weapon Zero-one, that is Heero, and the other pilots would destroy   
all Allianceopposition, including OZ and The Romefeller backup, thus   
paving the way for the rise of Weapon Zero-two into power. Like Heero,   
Mariemaia was trained since birth, but she was trained in leadership   
and political tactics. Therefore she became a political weapon. If   
Zero-one survived the initial invasion, he would provide the military  
backup for Zero-two."  
  
"If he didn't, Dekim would have a replacement ready in no time,"  
Sally finished, "No wonder Heero held little value for his life."  
  
At that moment, the red/haired girl turned to the door. It took her  
a while to notice the two women standing there.  
  
"Mrs. Noventa and Sylvia were here this morning," She said softly,  
as if she was afraid to wake up Heero, "They talked to him, but he  
still refuses to return."  
  
"What do you mean?" Une asked.  
  
"He's in a world between life and death," Mariemaia sighed. "Wing  
has used the ZERO system to go into his mind, and try to bring him  
back. But she'll have a hard time since he was badly hurt."  
  
"By Wing you're not refering to his Gundam, are you?" Sally asked,  
but Mariemaia refused to offer more. Instead her attention was back on  
the Japanese pilot. "The Wing ZERO has activated itself."  
  
Again, there was no answer. Sally looked questioningly at Une but  
got no help there either. She approached to give Heero a checkup,   
under Mariemaia's protective glare.  
  
'It's almost as if the two had been programmed to protect each other,'  
She thought. She recalled that when Mariemaia had personally apologized  
to Heero for her actions, right after her public apology speech, she  
and the boy had taken an inmediate liking to each other. To the extent  
that, at times, the former ruler-of-the-world wannabee refered to the  
Gundam pilot as her older brother.  
  
'Well, being two weapons programmed to work closely together, they  
could be considered brothers.' Sally finished her examination and  
turned to Mariemaia. "You should get some rest, too. Otherwise Heero  
will not be pleased when he wakes up."  
  
"I will." Mariemaia nodded absently.  
  
The girl watched as the two women left the room, then turned to  
Heero, a tear escaping her eyes.  
  
"Please, big brother," She said softly, "Come back to me."  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
This seems a little short to me, but hoped you liked it.  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's and Wing ZERO's tailfeathers 


	4. Chapter 3

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.3  
  
It had all started a couple of months before. Heero had already  
established himself in a private school in Japan, though he still had  
some problems adapting to a civilian life. On normal days, he would  
go to Preventers HQ after school, where he worked alongside Mariemaia  
as advisor to Lady Une, and as an intelligence officer. But on a   
really bad day he could be found on the cockpit of Wing ZERO, trying]  
to sort things out.  
  
As was to be expected, Relena would visit him everytime she got an  
apportunity to escape her duties. And then Mariemaia enrolled in the  
same school. So instead of having one girl chasing after him, Heero  
now had two. He was fond of them, and that made it easy for him to  
tolerate their constant attempts for him to open up.  
  
Sometimes he did open up. But only to Duo or Mariemaia. So in a way,  
life was becoming bearable for him.  
  
That was, until Duo asked him about Dekim's Weapons. Something he  
had read about when he had hacked the information on Operation Meteor.  
  
Heero became angry and sharply ordered Duo never to mention it  
again. But Duo, being Heero's best friend and all, and worried about  
Heero's reaction, decided to ask the youngest Barton. He got the same  
answer and the same death glare. So he dropped the subject altogether  
and quickly forgot about it.  
  
Afterwards, Heero became restless and more paranoic than usual. The  
first one to notice this was Mariemaia. And that was because they were  
more alike than anyone thought.  
  
"Duo's question is bothering you, right?" She asked one afternoon  
while eating ice cream on a sidewalk cafe.  
  
They were in no hurry to get to Preventers HQ, since Lady Une had  
threatened to suspend them for a whole month if they showed up to  
work. It was the only way she could get them to take a couple of days  
off, and they knew from experience that she would carry out her threats.  
  
Heero looked around himself, carefully scanning every face he saw.  
He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.  
  
"He's still alive," He finally said, "I just know it."  
  
"He's dead." Mariemaia said, "You were there. You saw when one of  
my guards shot him." She saw that he wasn't reassured a bit. "Don't  
tell me you don't remember? You said you were going to kill me, but  
when you pulled the trigger nothing happened. You must have emptied  
your gun on someone else."  
  
"I don't remeber anything of that." Heero turned to her. "All I  
remember was firing the Beam rifle, Wing falling apart around me and  
the explosion in the cockpit. That's all. Nothing else."  
  
"So you don't believe he's dead." The girl said, "But I know he is.  
I saw it with my own eyes. I even went to recognize the body..."  
  
"Did you see the scar in his body?" Heero interrupted her.  
  
"What scar?" Mariemaia asked.  
  
"Dekim had a scar on the left side of his abdomen." Heero answered,  
lost in memory, "Not many people knew about it."  
  
"Then how did you know about it?" Mariemaia asked, turning to look  
at the crowd.  
  
Heero sighed and looked at his hands, trying to decide if he should  
answer or not. But she was going to find put, sooner or later.  
  
"I gave that scar, the first time we met." He finally said, "Six  
weeks after I met Dr. J. He was going to punish me for answering  
sharply to him, but I struck him instead. Doing that earned me the  
first of many beatings during my training..." he closed his eyes and  
shivered, "He also forced Dr. J to change the method of my training..."  
  
Mariemaia turned to Heero, sensing his uneasiness. Sure enough, she  
saw that the boy had his eyes closed and was trembling slightly.  
  
When she placed her hand on his arm, he jumped a bit and turned to  
her.  
  
"I didn't see his body," She answered, "Just his face. So I didn't  
see if he had a scar or not."  
  
"Sally was with you, right?" Heero asked. When she nodded, he stood.  
"Let's go talk to her."  
  
"If it sets your mind at ease." Mariemaia stood, and followed him  
to his jeep.  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Hope this fic is keeping you interested.   
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Future Guardian of Heero's deadly spork 


	5. Chapter 4

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.4  
  
  
"Heero..."  
  
The japanese heard his name being called, but he couldn't tell where  
it was coming from.  
  
His eyes were scanning the face of every passerby, every driver,  
every passenger. Even a child's stare could be suspicious, he knew from  
experience. His ears were listening to any sound that was unusual.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
His attention now turned to windows. Storefronts, apartment windows  
and balconies came under his scrutiny. Every client looking out, the  
movement of a curtain or a closing window came under suspicion. The  
ZERO System had enhanced his already acute danger sense, so he just  
knew they were being watched. He became vaguely aware of cars honking  
somewhere in the distance and he tuned the noise out as irrelevant.  
  
"Heero!"  
  
He felt an elbow poking him hard on his ribs. He slowly turned to  
the source of the interruption. He shook his head just as the image of  
Mariemaia standing on the passenger seat registered into his search-mode  
mind.  
  
"Mariemaia!" he hissed in alarm, pulling her down. "What are do  
doing? You want to get us into trouble?"  
  
The red-haired girl glared at Heero as she fastened her seat belt.  
  
"The light's green." She stated, signalling the traffic light.  
  
"Huh?" Heero turned to the traffic light and just as he was about  
to move, it turned yellow the red. Heero fixed it with a death glare.  
  
"For you to be this distracted, you must have been really affected  
by Duo's question." Mariemaia said. "I, too, have felt uneasy since Duo  
came to me. But why are you like this?"  
  
"You know what kind of person Dekim was." Heero answered. "I don't  
know how he treated you, but you saw how he treated others." He looked  
down, "I really don't want to go through all that again."  
  
"So if you can see for yourself that Dekim is dead, will you be  
more at ease?" Mariemaia asked.  
  
Heero shook his head. "If Duo knows about the existence of Dekim's  
Weapons, then that means that the information could be easily acessed  
by an associate of Dekim or the scientist."  
  
"I never thought about it that way," Mariemaia shivered. "That  
person might try to recover the Weapons, complete them and use them  
the way Dekim intended."  
  
"It would have to be one of your relatives, since only a member of  
the Barton family can use them." The light turned green and Heero moved,  
"That, or someone that could convince one of your relatives to help  
them."  
  
Mariemaia didn't question Heero's paranoia any longer, since she  
too found herself looking over shoulder once in a while. Heero's fears  
were well founded. If one Weapon was completed it was bad enough. But  
a person controlling both could easily take over the Earth and the  
colonies.  
  
She unconsciously rubbed the nape of her neck. What would happen if  
the Preventers learned of the Weapons' true capabilities? What  
measures would they take to keep them from falling into the wrong  
hands?  
  
Even though the Barton Foundation had denounced and condemned  
Dekim and his followers upon it's patriarch's death, that wouldn't  
stop someone from seeking the Weapons out.  
  
It would be up to her and Heero to stop that from happening,  
without the Preventers' involvement.  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
I don't know about Japan, but here I always have the bad luck that  
whichever side of the traffic light I am, I always get 5 seconds of  
green and a minute and a half of red.  
I know this story is titled Hatikva, she'll be in the next chapter.  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Future Guardian of Heero's deadly spork 


	6. Chapter 5

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.5  
  
  
"Why are you making me see all this," Heero interrupted his Gundam's  
soul. "Why do I have to go through it again?"  
  
After Hatikva/Wing had told him that she wanted him to return with  
her, he had refused. She had sat up and made him lie on her lap. When  
she placed her fingers on his temples, he started to re-live the  
recent incident. Only he wasn't living it in person.  
  
It was rather like reading a book and watching it's movie version  
at the same time. He had seen himself and Mariemaia, and had felt her  
thoughts, her fears, along with his.  
  
He fought it and when he was able to shake himself out of it, he  
asked her why. yet he didn't move from her lap.  
  
"Because it's the only way I can make you see. The only way you'll  
come back." She answered. She removed her fingers from his temples  
and instead stroked his hair.  
  
Heero thought about her words, how it might affect the outcome.  
  
"It might just have the opposite effect." He finally said. What makes  
you so sure I will go back?"  
  
"I'm showing you the events the way I saw them." She smiled, "I saw  
things you didn't. I know things you don't. I just want you to have  
the whole picture."  
  
"You can read people's minds?" Heero asked. He looked into Hatikva/  
Wing's eyes, which were now a bright green, instead of the blue he  
remembered.  
  
"Some people are more open than others," She answered, "Quatre  
knows how to shield his mind. Yours I can read because of our bond,  
and I can read Mariemaia's because of her simmilarities with you. She  
was programmed just like you, you know."  
  
Heero nodded absently and touched the nape of his neck. "The first  
time someone called me Zero-one I wondered if they knew the truth. But  
it was because Lady Une designated the original Wing as Zero-one." He  
closed his eyes, "I don't want to back. What's there for me, but the  
reminder of the pains and deaths I've caused? At least here, it's  
peaceful enough to come to terms with my own ghosts."  
  
"You would only be running away from yourself." Hatikva/Wing said.  
  
"What are you?" Heero opened his eyes. "First you were my most  
persistent ghost, then my Gundam and now my shrink?" The next question  
he asked in the serious tone of the Perfect Soldier. "Do you think  
choosing between life and death is as easy as choosing between eating  
with silverware and eating with a spork?"  
  
Hatikva/Wing raised an eyebrow at the question. Then she decided it  
was an apportunity to lighten his mood. "Well?" She asked, "What  
would you choose?" She smiled, "Between silverware and spork, I mean."  
  
"The spork, of course," Heero answered with a hint of a smile in his  
eyes, "Ican use it to drink a Wantan soup and then eat the Wantan." His  
eyes darkened again, "I don't have much choice in this matter, do I?  
You are going to stay here until I decide to return."  
  
Hatikva/Wing nodded vigorously witha smile that reminded her of Duo,  
"Shall I continue?" She asked, placing her left hand on his forehead  
and taking his hand with her right.  
  
"Just take a break once in a while," Heero said, "By body may be in  
a coma and my mind in a ZERO created world, but it's tiring."  
  
He closed his eyes and allowed Hatikva/Wing's senses to flood him.  
This time he was ready for them  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Sporks in this chapter, sporks in the next, sporks to lighten the mood.  
I know someone will like this, right?  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Future Guardian of Heero's deadly spork 


	7. Chapter 6

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.6  
  
"So what you're telling me, Heero," Sally said, after hearing the  
boy's request, "Is that you've got this gut feeling, and you want me  
to exhume Dekim's body?"  
  
"Yes." Heero answered.  
  
They were standing in line in the Preventers HQ's cafeteria. Sally  
was holding the line, trying to decide what to eat her Wantan soup  
with. Wufei was glaring at her from the table he was reserving for  
them, trying to make her hurry up.  
  
"Just to see if he has a scar that nobody in his family, except  
his wife, knew about?" Sally asked again. Heero decided for her by  
picking a spork from among the forks and spoons and set it on her tray.  
"Can't be done." She dead-panned.  
  
"Why?" Heero asked when they seated. "Something legal?"  
  
"That wasn't in my mind." Sally answered, "The body is probably so  
decomposed, that if he had a scar, which I don't remember seeing, it  
won't be recognizable." She dipped the spork in her soup, stabbed a  
Wantan and started eating. "I can show you the morgue pictures, though."  
  
"Working on a case?" Wufei asked, "But I thought Lady Une..."  
  
"Shut up, Wufei." Mariemaia said with a death glare that rivaled  
Heero's. "It's none of your business."  
  
Wufei had served under Mariemaia long enough to know that her glare  
conveyed more menace than her words. He wondered why she acted like  
the Heero sometimes. And she was like that even before she had started  
hanging out with the Japanese pilot.  
  
"Then it's personal," Wufei said. "It wouldn't be right to get  
involved."  
  
"How about you meet me at the hospital at 5." Sally said. "I've  
got his file there." She smiled when Heero nodded. "Until then,  
you should both go home to rest. Do your homework..."  
  
"Done." Mariemaia interrupted.  
  
"Then read a book. Play some video games. Do something people your  
age normally do, and don't think about this until the time comes."  
  
"I do those things." Mariemaia protested, then smiled as she stood,  
"Now I'll have to see if I can get Heero to join me in an old-fashioned  
game of Mario Kart."  
  
"Huh?" Heero turned to her at the mention of his name. He had been  
watchingbthe cafeteria entrance.  
  
"Let's go to my place," She pulled his arm, "You only have one-player  
strategy games, and I get bored just watching you."  
  
Wufei watched them leave the cafeteria, then turned to Sally.  
  
"He's been very distracted lately. Not like him at all." He said,  
"Maybe Lady Une should order him to take a vacation."  
  
"I don't blame him," Sally said, "If I were in his place, I would  
be jumping at every little sound."  
  
"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, but Sally was already concentrated  
on her soup.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"She knew?" Heero opened his eyes.  
  
"She knew since the first time you met." Hatikva/Wing answered "She  
saw the designation tattooed on your nape. So after you escaped, it  
was just a matter of putting two plus two together." She cocked her  
head. "Then she investigated, though she found nothing. That is until  
Dr. J gave her access to your files, when he decided she was good  
enough to be your doctor."  
  
"Hmm..." Heero was thoughtful, "Wonder why she never said anything  
about it."  
  
"Well, you have a tendency to become aggresive when it comes to  
your secrets..." Hatikva/Wing said.  
  
"You're right..." Heero sighed. He stroked Mary's head, who had  
curled up and fallen asleep on his stomach. The puppy yawned and  
stretched, only to fall asleep again. Heero yawned too and realized  
that he was tired.  
  
"I still don't get it." He said, "How can I be in a coma and still  
be tired?"  
  
"Beats me." Hatikva/Wing answered, "I can explain a lot of things  
but not everything." She stroked the boy's hair and he closed his eyes.  
"Do you want to sleep?"  
  
Heero nodded and was asleep before Hatikva/Wing told him he could.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
He woke up a few hours later. As was his habit, he started to  
analyze his situation with his sense before opening his eyes. He  
slowly recalled having had a conversation with a dead girl that claimed  
to have been reborn in his Gundam, and what she had made him see.  
  
'Am I really in a coma and talking with her, or was it all just a  
really weird dream?' He asked himself. For an answer, he heard  
someone humming to him, and he was on that persons lap. 'Relena? No,  
her voice is diffeent.' He had never actually heard the song she  
was humming, but somehow he knew the lyrics by heart.  
  
"When veils of silence lay them down," He started singing along  
with the humming, "And no one seems to be around... I know that song."  
He said opening his eyes.  
  
"You should," Hatikva/Wing smiled gently, "Your mother used to sing  
it to you when you were a baby." Before Heero could ask, she added. "I  
got a good look at your subconscious when you first piloted the Wing  
ZERO. I liked it and learned it."  
  
"I see..." Heero said softly, "Mother... I don't remember her...  
wonder what became of her..."  
  
  
"Huh? Did you say something?"  
  
"Nothing," Heero shook his head, "Well, are you going to continue?"  
  
"Ah, yes!" Hatikva/Wing grinned, "Where were we..."  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
The sporks strike again! I even found a way to put them in the next  
chapter.  
  
The song Hatikva/Wing (whom I'll just call Hatikva from now on) was  
humming and Heero started singing is called 'Good night' from Fool's  
Garden. It's in the 'Go and ask Peggy for the Principal Thing' album.  
I've always loved that song, and it somehow feels right to sing it  
to Heero  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	8. Chapter 7

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.7  
  
Sally opened the door of her office, to find Heero and Mariemaia  
having a Death Glare contest.  
  
"What happened now..." She asked carefully, trying hard not to  
upset them.  
  
"Heero was using the ZERO system on Quake XI." Mariemaia said.  
  
"Since when did a spork-shooting gun became a standard weapon on  
that game." Heero answered.  
  
"You know it's the only illegal weapon that can hurt Duo when he's  
on God Mode and wielding a scythe." Mariemaia crossed her arms.  
  
"But you and Duo were out to kill me." Heero countered.  
  
"You're fighting over a game?" Sally teardropped, "you two should  
act your age." In a way, she was glad that Heero was acting a bit  
friendlier.  
  
Heero and Mariemaia looked at each other, sighed and turned to Sally.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am." They said in unison.  
  
Once inside her office, when the two young Preventers were seated  
in her couch, Sally handed Heero a thick file.  
  
"Is this the man you saw?" Heero asked, showing Mariemaia the  
picture of a bald man with a heavy mustache.  
  
"Yes..." Mariemaia nodded.  
  
"Doesn't look right." heero leafed through the rest of the pictures  
and scanned each one carefully. After an hour, he put them down. "It's  
not him."  
  
"Are you sure?" Sally asked, "Every member of the Barton Foundation  
that came identified him as Dekim Barton."  
  
"Did you do a DNA test?" Heero asked, giving her the file.  
  
"A DNA test?" Sally started, "Look, I understand understand your  
feelings about him, but your paranioa is going too far."  
  
"Sally, if he's alive, he could be after me or Mariemaia. If he gets  
either one of us, it could mean trouble." Heero said in his monotone,  
"Now, did you do the test or not?"  
  
Sally was curious as to what Heero was talking about, though she  
had some idea. She knew that Heero had often been refered to as a  
weapon, both by OZ and the L1 rebels. She knew he had a nanochip  
implant under his skin, in the same place where his denomination was  
tattooed. She knew that that chip contained certain orders, though she  
didn't knew what kind. And she had seen his open hatred towards Dekim  
Barton and his followers, but not towards Mariemaia. From what she  
could tell, Heero was also afraid of Dekim Barton.  
  
"I didn't thought it was necesary at the time." Sally admitted,  
"But I kept a blood sample, so I can do it if you want." When Heero  
nodded, she opened a drawer from where she pulled a hypodermic needdle.  
"I'll need a sample from Mariemaia too."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Half and hour later, Sally received the test results. As she read  
them a frown crossed her features.  
  
"I was right, wasn't I?" Heero said, "That man is not Dekim Barton."  
  
Sally sighed and set the results on her desk. She picked the file  
on Dekim and looked carefully at the pictures.  
  
"Why did I miss it?" She whispered.  
  
"What's going on?" Mariemaia asked, looking from Sally to Heero.  
  
"The man that died on the complex and was buried as Dekim Barton  
was actually a double, altered through cosmetic surgery to look like  
Dekim Barton, and trained to act like him." Heero explained and looked  
at Sally, "Am I right?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Sally said. " I should have noticed..."  
  
"There's no point in worrying about what could have been." Heero  
told her. "We should be thinking on how to stop him if tries anything."  
  
"He won't rest until the Earth and the Colines are in his power."  
Mariemaia whispered, she started shivering and Heero put an arm on  
her shoulder. "We won't be able to do anything against him..."  
  
"Do you want me to saty over at your place?" Heero asked with a   
softness that surprised Sally.  
  
Mariemaia nodded and Heero stood, taking the girl in his arms. He  
turned to Sally.  
  
"I know you will report this to Lady Une, even if I ask you not to."  
He said, "But I would appreciate it if you didn't tell the other  
pilots. They wouldn't understand." He walked to the door and stopped.  
"Also, I have a bad feeling of all this. The ZERO System is practically  
screaming at me that something will happen. If anything happens to me,  
I want you to keep Mariemaia under heavy protection." He then lowered  
his voice to a whisper "I might be forced to do things I don't want to."  
  
As Heero walked out the door, Wufei walked in. He watched them walk  
down the hallway before turning to Sally.  
  
"Did Heero find what he was looking for?" He asked.  
  
"More or less." Sally answered. She picked her jacket, "Let's go.  
It's late, and I want to catch Lady Une before she leaves HQ."  
  
"You look like something is bothering you." Wufei pointed.  
  
"It's what I need to talk to Lady Une about."  
  
They walked quietly from her office to the elevator, just saying  
goodbye to the recepcionist. Just then Mariemaia burst from the  
entrance. She was breathing heavily and was bleeding from her arm.  
  
"Sally..." The girl panted, "Heero... militia... took him..."  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
So, I turned the Nine Inch Nail gun from Quake into a Nine Inch Spork  
gun, just for this fic. It's just that I don't want to make this fic  
TOO serious, or I'll get depressed writing it. And when I get  
depressed I end up killing my favorite character. Otherwise, everything  
is going as planned.  
  
Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	9. Chapter 8

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
A couple of notes. First of all, this is not a Heero/Relena fic. I'm more   
towards Heero/Dorothy, but there are no pairings in this one.  
  
As to the short chapters: I wrote this fic last year, a couple of weeks  
after the January 13 earthquake in my country. I originally posted it on  
the Gundam_Wing Mailing List and over there, short chapters are easier  
to read (and it's also easy to keep the suspense). So know that I'm  
trying my hand here, I'm posting two chapters daily, one in the morning  
and one in the afternoon.  
  
And the spork thing... we got a little out off hand on the Mailing List,  
mainly with the sporks, so the moderator had to put a ban on unnecesary  
naming of household items. I just found a way to go around that ban and  
joke with a friend.  
  
Well, on with the story.  
  
  
  
Hatikva Ch.8  
  
"What are you talking about?" Wufei asked, "what happened to Heero?"  
  
"Militia... Heero... Dekim..." Mariemaia gasped. She closed her eyes  
and forced herself to take deep, slow breaths. "We were in the parking  
lot... a van stopped in front of us and some armed men stepped out. I  
didn't recognize any, just one from Dekim's private militia... he told  
us that we were to go with him. Heero refused and a fight started.  
Heero told me to to get away, so I did..." She took another deep breath.  
"I heard the man say 'Zero-one, standby'. And I turned to see them   
carrying Heero into the van..."  
  
Wufei picked the girl and started walking towards the E.R.  
  
"Where are you taking me!?" Mariemaia struggled, "We have to get  
Heero back! They'll hurt him!"  
  
"To take care or your wound." Wufei answered, "Besides, did you  
see where the van went?"  
  
Mariemaia stopped strugling and shook her head, her eyes filled with  
tears.  
  
"Then there's nothing we can do right now. Let Sally talk with Lady  
Une."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"What do you think 'Zero-one, standby' means?" Lady Une asked after  
Sally explained to her what happened. "I used to call him Zero-one,  
because his Gundam was the first one sighted."  
  
"From what Dr. J allowed me to see, Heero was trained to become the  
perfect weapon. Zero-one is what was he was called during his training."  
Sally answered. "Also, Heero has a nanochip implant in his spine,  
which may be programmed with certain orders. 'Standby' may be an order  
to... stand by... a simple word to make stop doing whatever he's  
doing."  
  
"It makes sense," Lady Une seemed thoughtful, "If Dekim wants to  
try anything, he'll first recover his wayward weapon."  
  
"Heero is incomplete as a weapon," Sally said, "Dr. J told me as  
much. Therefore Dekim will attempt to complete his perfect weapon. If  
he succeeds, Heero will be unstopable..."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Heero slowly recovered consciousness. He could remember the gunmen,  
the fight, he could even remember someone taking a shot Mariemaia. But  
as hard as he tried, he couldn't remember the words that one of them  
had said. Thay had paralized him and had allowwed to gunmen to  
overpower him.  
  
He slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light,  
then looked around himself. He was lying on the cold tile floor of a  
large room that somehow seemed familiar. The walls were white and  
could have been made of any material. There were some metallic   
bookshelves that held medical equipment. On one end there was a desk  
with a computer and the other end was completely dark. Heero couldn't  
see anything in the dark end, but he could sense someone standing there.  
  
He tried to stand and found his hands tied behing his back.  
  
"Welcome back, Zero-One." said a computer-modified voice from the  
dark end.  
  
"I am not Zero-One..." Heero growled, regaining his footing. "My  
name is Heero Yuy..."  
  
"So, Zero-One now thinks it has an identity." The voice laughed,  
"That's amusing. But you are nothing more than a creature created for  
war."  
  
Heero growled and ran towards the voice, intending to tackle  
whoever was there. He knew hundreds of ways to kill a person, a third  
of them without using his hands.  
  
"Zero-One, standby." The voice camly said.  
  
Heero gasped as he stopped in his tracks. The words had been said  
again, though he couldn't make out what they were. 'Why can't I move?'  
He thought, 'Was it an order?'  
  
"Still impulsive, I see." The voice said, "Guess I'll have to do  
something about that."  
  
Heero's eyes widened and he shivered when the person stepped into   
the light.  
  
"Tell me Zero-One." Dekim said, putting his fingers under Heero's  
chin, forcing him to look up. "Shall I give you another opportunity,  
and turn you into my Perfect Weapon?"  
  
"Damn you..." Heero spat.  
  
He was struck on the side of the head and he was sent crashing onto  
one of the shelves. Some scalpels fell and cut his skin.  
  
Dekim grabbed his shirt, forced him to stand and slammed him against  
the shelf. Heero fought back tears of pain and fear.  
  
"You cannot lift your hand against me, Zero-One. But you'll have to  
watch your tongue." Dekim hissed. "You know I can easily kill you. And  
I can also make you suffer with killing you, even if you beg me to.  
  
"Why..." Heero groaned.  
  
"Why?" Dekim laughed. "Simply because you exist."  
  
Heero closed his eyes and steeled himself for the pain he knew was  
coming. He only hoped Dekim got tired and just killed him.  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
No, sorry, no sporks this time. I still can't beleive I'm trying to  
fit sporks into every chapter  
Zxyu make Blackthorn crazy.  
  
Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	10. Chapter 9

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.9  
  
"Mariemaia!" Lady Une called from the catwalk, "Are you in Wing  
ZERO's cockpit again?"  
  
The red-haired girl's head popped from the open hatch of said Gundam.  
  
"You know Heero has a link with the ZERO System." She answered, "So  
if anyone can find him, it's the System."  
  
"So you've been telling us for the last three months." Lady Une  
sighed. "And you haven't had any results. Let's face it, the link must  
have been severed."  
  
"But he might reestablish it." Mariemaia replied, but Lady Une's  
look told her to drop it. She lowered her head in defeat. "What about  
the murders," She finally asked. "Is there a pattern yet?" She wanted  
to believe that Heero had nothing to do with them. "Any suspects?"  
  
"Not yet," Lady Une said, "We only know that he or she is very  
skillful, and now has moved to government officials."  
  
"So he's working his way up." Mariemaia sat on the edge of the  
hatch.  
  
One month after Heero was kidnapped, dead people started to appear  
on the Earth and the colonies. It had begun with low-ranking police  
and Preventers oficers. Then it was Preventers Distric and Area chiefs,  
most in their homes but the others in their offices, were security was  
supposed to be high. In the past two weeks, three goverment secretaries  
were murdered. No two persons died the same way, yet they knew the  
assassin was the same. There was no pattern, except what Mariemaia  
had just said.  
  
"But why did he spared Preventers special agents and commanders?"  
The girl said softly. "And who will be the next target..." Mariemaia  
suddenly smiled and jumped onto the catwalk, then ran towards the  
nearest computer terminal. "I'll need a list of the name and rank of  
each of the victims, the offices they held." She explained when Lady  
Une gave her a baffled look, "We'll run it through the ZERO System."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Lady Une and Noin peered from the open hatch into the cockpit of  
Wing ZERO. Because of the cramped space, the one inside was Mariemaia.  
  
The three were surpised by the fact that it took the System five  
minutes to process the information, when it would have taken the  
Intelligence department a whole week, working 24 hours, to reach the  
same conclusion and isolate the next target:  
  
Relena Darlian.  
  
"I guess there's no doubt," Mariemaia sighed sadly, "Dekim must be  
behind the assassinations..." She looked at her hands, "And Heero must  
be the assassin." She lowered her voice, "He was afraid of something  
like this... It makes sense. This will create enough chaos for him to  
come and get me. He'll have enough time to retrain me and put me and  
Heero in position to back up his Coup de Etat."  
  
"And this overthrow meaning he'll have Heero kill the president and  
taking over?" Une asked. Mariemaia nodded.  
  
"That plan sounds familiar..." Noin smiled grimly.  
  
"Yes." Lady Une admitted, "That time, it was His Excellency Treize  
who was behind it, and the Alliance pacifists died by Heero's hands."  
  
"It's happening again." Mariemaia said, reviewing the victims list  
as it scrolled up the screen, "Dekim has killed all those who were  
strong advocates of pacifism." She was silent for a moment. "We have  
to get Miss Relena under protection. Now." She climbed out of the  
cockpit. "Miss Une, Miss Noin, I want to be there with the security  
team."  
  
"Why?" Noin asked.  
  
"I think I will be able to break through Heero's training and bring  
him back."  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
A short chapter. I think I made it too short. As to why I jumped three  
months and left out Heero's retraining, is because I don't know how  
to write that kind of thing. So I'll just leave to your wicked minds  
to imagine what poor, little Heero went through.  
  
Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork  
Humble servant of the Golden Spork 


	11. chapter 10

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.10  
  
"Well?" Hatikva asked, "Was it as bad as you thought it was going to  
be?"  
  
"You didn't show me the three months under Dekim's training." Heero  
said. He stood and stretched. "Why?"  
  
"I said I would show you what I saw." Hatikva also stood and stretched  
her wings. She kneeled to take Mary off her leash, and the puppy ran to  
chase butterflies. "After the initial shock you became so scared that  
you must have shut off the link, instead of signalling the ZERO System.  
So I just waited there, in the hangar, with Mariemaia coming eveyday  
to see if you had reestablished the link. If that little girl hadn't  
used the System to figure out Dekim's plan, I would have looking for  
you."  
  
Heero blinked twice, trying to imagine it, then chuckled softly.  
  
"What's so funny." Hatikva demamded.  
  
"I was just imagining everyone's face if they had seen a berzerk  
Wing ZERO, ripping apart L1 while screaming my name like Relena." Heero  
answered, with a hint of a smie.  
  
"I don't sound like that spoiled princess." Hatikva crossed her arms.  
  
"No, you don't." Heero said. "But since Relena is the only one that  
screams at me like that, I have no other reference..." He trailed off  
as he noticed a strange look on the winged girl's eyes. "What are you  
thinking?" He asked warily.  
  
"You smiled. And you have proven to me that you DO have a sense of  
humor." She had a big Duo grin, "So I was wondering if you had...  
TICKLES!"  
  
She started to aproach and was about to pounce, when she saw the  
Japanese pilot pull a beam saber out of spandex-space.  
  
"That's a dirty trick!" Hatikva protested.  
  
"This is my mind, you said." Heero glared, "So I do what I want." He  
the beam saber back from where he taken it. "Besides, you want me to  
go back, don't you? Your playing around isn't helping get your point  
across. It makes me want to stay here even more."  
  
Hattikva sighed and sat down. "Now matter how hard you try to hide  
your real self, I will always be able to see it clearly. Just like I  
saw it the first time we met."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about." Heero said softly,  
turning his back to her.  
  
"I don't?" Hatikva asked, raising her eyebrow, a habit she had  
picked from the boy. "I'm starting to believe that you're the one that  
doesn't know what I'm talking about."  
  
Heero didn't answer. A small yelp made him turn to Mary, who was  
jumping and wagging her tail, trying to catch his attention. When he  
knelt she ran and stopped a few meters away. She turned towards him  
and yelped again. Heero was puzzled.  
  
"She can tell you're sad." Hatikva offered, kneeling next to him,  
"She wants you to play with her, so that you forget your sadness, even  
if it is for a little while."  
  
"Does it work?" Heero asked softly. Mary started jumping in place,  
yelping.  
  
"It explains why people keep pets." Hatikva said. "You like animals.  
You're most likely to show them your real self."  
  
"Animals just live their live. They only kill to feed or to protect  
themselves." Heero replied, "They don't wage meaningless wars. And  
they certainly haven't betrayed me." He ran off to chase Mary.  
  
"Heero..." Hatikva whispered as she watched him play with the puppy.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Hatikva had been napping, when Heero and Mary returned and hour  
later. She opened one eye to look at them.  
  
They were both covered with grass, and Heero's hands had small bite  
marks where Mary had tugged him. They looked tired, but Heero's eyes  
had a gleam that Hatikva had only seen when she met him on that  
fateful day. 'Perhaps it had been a good idea to let him run off with  
Mary,' she thought.  
  
"Can we continue?" Heero asked, when he noticed that Hatikva was  
still lying in the grass, her one open eye staring at him intently.  
He raised an eyebrow. "Well?"  
  
"Do you remember anything of what happened after your training?"  
Hatikva sat up.  
  
"Not much." Heero shook his head. "Just bits and pieces. Kinda like  
a nightmare." He leaned on Hatikva's shoulder. "Why?"  
  
"It's what got you into this condition." Hatikva gently laid him on  
her lap.  
  
"You're having second thoughts?" Heero asked, a bit amused, "I thought  
you wanted me to see all this."  
  
"Alright..." Hatikva sighed and put her hands on hir forehead before  
closing her eyes. "Here we go..."  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Ok. Here. I finished. Next chapter: the moment everyone's been waiting  
for...  
  
I really believe Heero and the little girl would have been really  
good friends, if she hadn't died  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork  
Humble servant of the Golden Spork 


	12. Chapter 11

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.11  
  
"Is all this security really necesary?" Relena asked, crossing her  
arms. "Heero has threatened me before. He won't kill me."  
  
"Not this Heero," Mariemaia shook her head. "He's out for blood."  
  
"How do you know he'll come after me and not someone else?"  
  
"Relena..." Mariemaia sighed, "I know first hand how Dekim thinks  
and acts. You're an influential person. The rest of the goverment  
looks up to you, even though you're just the Vice-Foreign Minister.  
Your death would de-estabilize Earth and the colonies. Just what Dekim  
needs to take over."  
  
"Why not another Operation Meteor?" Relena asked again, still not  
believing that Heero would hurt her.  
  
"Remember it failed," Lady Une said, "Twice."  
  
"Yes," Relena protested, "But still..."  
  
The door of her bedroom opened and Sally walked in followed by the  
four Gundam pilots.  
  
"The perimeter is secure." Wufei reported. "No one can come in  
without us noticing."  
  
"All know entrances have been covered." Quatre said.  
  
"Including the secret passages." Duo grinned, "They are not so  
secret anymore."  
  
"This is an old castle," Lady Une said, "It may have more passages  
than the ones we have covered."  
  
"He'll come." Mariemaia sat on Relena's desk chair, "He'll find a  
way in and look for you. That's when we get him."  
  
Mariemaia had a very high intelligence level, the result of genetic  
manipulation on Dekim's part. She was on the same level Heero had been  
at her age. She had to be, if she was going to be Zero-One's political  
counterpart, which also required her emotions to remain intact.  
  
But she was still a seven-year old girl. And she started playing in  
Relena's chair, making it turn around in it's axis.  
  
"Stop it." Lady Une said, putting a hand on the back of the chair  
to stop it from spinning. "You'll get sick."  
  
Relena looked at the scene, wondering how would a little girl stop  
a trained killer. Or if said little girl had to be an officer in the  
Preventers in the first place.  
  
Mariemaia regained her composture and glared at Duo, daring him to  
make any comments on her behaviour. The braided pilot found that the  
pattern on the rug was very interesting.  
  
"So your plan is?" Relena asked.  
  
"Wait for him, no matter how long it takes." Mariemaia answered,  
"And pray that Dekim hasn't changed his plans."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
As it was, they had to wait three days before something happened,  
and Relena was fuming.  
  
"This has gone far!" She said, "All that fuss over a stray cat!? I  
think we are wasting our time!"  
  
"But Miss Relena..." Mariemaia started, "You have to understand..."  
  
"My influence in world politics." Relena finished for the girl, "I  
understand all that. What I don't understand is why the Preventers are  
wasting time and money overprotecting me, instead of using them to  
find and stop Dekim."  
  
"We are doing that." Mariemaia answered, "But it's as if Dekim and  
Heero have dissapeared in midair. Dr. J took us to the lab where he   
had trained Heero on L1, and there are no traces of the place left."  
She sighed, "They could be right under our noses..."  
  
She was interrupted by the report of a machine gun coming from the  
yard, followed by a terrified scream and more shooting.  
  
"What's going on?" Relena went to the window, but Mariemaia pulled  
her away.  
  
The door opened and the four Gundam pilots appeared.  
  
"Miss Relena!" Quatre said, "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes. But what's happening."  
  
"There's an intruder..." Duo answered, "But no one has seen him...  
just shadows. He seems to be eliminating anyone that get's in his way.  
And we have lost contact with all outside security."  
  
Everyone's head turned to the door when the gunshots were heard  
from within the compund. The shots and screams lasted for another hour  
before the place was shrouded in deadly silence.  
  
"He's here..." Mariemaia whispered, "Zero-One is here..."  
  
"Zero-One?" Quatre asked, "What's Zero-One?"  
  
"It's a weapon of mass destruction," Trowa answered for the little  
girl, "Created by the Barton Foundation, capable of even destroying a  
Gundam. It's original purpose was as the spearhead of our Gundam attack,  
after the colony drop."  
  
"Meaning?" Wufei asked.  
  
"Zero-One is Heero's true identity..." Mariemaia said sadly.  
  
"A pity you and the boy didn't tell them sooner." Dekim Barton  
appeared on the open door, "Or you might have had a chance of preparing  
yourselves better." He laughed. "Not that it was going to help you."  
  
Heero walked in and stood in front of the man. He looked thinner  
than usual, his blue eyes were dark and unfocused. His face and hands  
were covered in blood that didn't seem to bother him.  
  
"Heero..." Relena muttered.  
  
The Japanese boy's eyes narrowed and turned his disturbing gaze on  
her.  
  
"Target sighted." He said in a dark, mechanical voice.  
  
"Heero..." Relena's eyes widened in fear when she saw murder in his  
eyes.  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
So this was not the moment you were waiting. It's in the next chapter.  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	13. Chapter 12

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.12  
  
"Heero..." Relena's voice was shaking as Heero got closer.  
  
Duo and the other pilots stood protectively in front of Relena and  
Mariemaia.  
  
Heero broke into a run and quickly knocked Wufei, Duo and Quatre,  
completely ignoring Trowa.  
  
-You will not bring any harm to any member of the Barton Family-  
  
The Heavyarms pilot noticed that and decided to try something out.  
He remembered how the real Trowa Barton would boast about how his  
niece would rule the world with the help of his father's 'Weapon'.  
  
"Zero-One, standby." He said simply.  
  
-You will obey any orders given by a Barton-  
  
Heero stopped and waited, staring blankly in front of him.  
  
"Zero-One!" Dekim growled. "Ignore further commands from Trowa  
Barton!" He smirked, "He is really a No-Name. Disable him!"  
  
Trowa didn't see when he was knocked unconscious by a hit on the  
back of the head.  
  
Heero looked at the form on the floor, blinked, then pulled out a  
gun, aiming it at Relena.  
  
"Heero!" Mariemaia stopped in front of Relena. "Don't do it!"  
  
"Zero-Two." Heero spoke softly. "Get out of the way."  
  
Upon hearing this, Mariemaia's eyes clouded and she started to  
comply. When she realized what she was doing, she shook her head and  
glared at Heero.  
  
Unlike Heero, who had been trained during twelve years, the last  
two being the most intense and gruesome, Mariemaia had only been  
trained for six years. Therefore it was easy for her to shake off  
Dekim's brainwashing.  
  
"Fight it, Heero!" She said, "I can do it! So can you, 'cause you're  
stronger than I am!"  
  
She still had the same heightened senses as her military counterpart,   
so when she saw Heero's finger twitch on the trigger, she reacted.  
  
"Don't!" She screamed, before she heard two gunshots.  
  
She ducked and covered her ears. Relena was thrown back by the  
impacts.  
  
"Mission accomplished." Heero muttered. He walked towards the  
cowering girl and extended his hand, "Let's go, Zero-Two."  
  
Mariemaia slowly lifted her head to look at Heero, who wore no  
expression on his face, then looked at Relena. The Vice-Foreign  
Minister was bleeding from shot wounds on her arm and thigh. In the  
exact same spots were Heero had been shot by Duo about two years  
before.  
  
Despite the situation, Mariemaia smiled. Her gamble had worked. She  
could still get through to Heero.  
  
"Zero-One!" Dekim called, "She's not dead!"  
  
Heero slowly turned to set his cold gaze on the man.  
  
"Zero-Two told me not to kill her." The boy answered.  
  
"Idiot!" Dekim growled. He walked towards Heero and hit him on the  
side of the head. "Your orders are to kill Vice-Foreign Minister  
Darlian and recover Zero-Two!"  
  
Heero stood. Fresh blood started flowing from a gash above his   
eyebrow and into his eye. He lifted his gun and aimed at Relena's   
forehead.  
  
"Heero..." Mariemaia whispered.  
  
Heero's gun wavered.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Dekim was growing desperate. Though  
Zero-One had neutralized security ,someone outside the compound was   
bound to notice, "Kill her!"  
  
"I... I cannot..." Heero said softly, looking at the red-haired  
girl's eyes.  
  
"What did you say?" Dekim growled, walking towards Heero.  
  
"If I kill Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian, Zero-Two will be hurt."  
Heero answered, "I cannot hurt Zero-Two."  
  
Dekim realized his mistake in programming Zero-One to be protective  
of Zero-Two. The only one that ranked higher than her in Zero-One's  
protection priority list was Dekim himself. He would have to reprogram  
his weapon once this was over.  
  
With an angry growl, Dekim punched Heero in the stomach and made him  
fall on his knees.  
  
"Are you dissobeying me?!" The man asked with menace in his voice.  
"Answer me!"  
  
"No, sir..." Heero groaned softly, "It's just..."  
  
Dekim didn't let him finish. Instead, he viciously kicked the boy.  
  
"You know what happens when you disobey me." Dekim smiled when he  
saw the boy's body start to tremble and his eyes widen with fear.  
  
Mariemaia couldn't watch any longer. Her companion was in danger  
and she had to do something. She saw that Dekim was ready to strike  
Heero again, and she ran to grab his arm.  
  
"Stop hurting him!" She growled at the man.  
  
"Little brat!" Dekim easily pushed the girl away from him.  
  
Mariemaia tripped over Relena's unconscious form. When she tried to  
stand, she found herself tangled in the Vice-Foreign Minister's limbs.  
She looked up when she heard Dekim aproach her.  
  
"That wasn't a smart move, Zero-Two." Dekim said, "Perhaps you need  
the same treatment as Zero-One."  
  
"NO!" Heero screamed. This time his eyes were clouded by a blind  
rage.  
  
He shot Dekim on the shoulder, making him stagger away from the  
girl. He stood and walked towards the man.  
  
"What are you doing?" Dekim demanded, covering the wound to staunch  
the blood flow. "You will not hurt me!"  
  
Heero fell on his knees and screamed as a sharp, blinding pain shot  
from his spine and into his brain.  
  
"Do you like it?" Dekim grinned, "It's a little failsafe program in  
case you ever tried going against me."  
  
"Bastard..." Mariemaia growled softly.  
  
The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started. Heero stayed where  
he was, breathing heavily and waiting for his mind to clear. After a  
while, he stood and glared at Dekim. He slowly lifted his gun and his  
finger twitched on the trigger.  
  
"What did I just say." Dekim said. He watched as, once again, Heero  
was brought to his knees by the pain. "Trying to do something to me  
will only cause you pain!" His proud grin turned into a frown when he  
noticed that the gun was still aimed at him, "What? Impossible..."  
  
"You... wil not... hurt... us... again..." Heero groaned and pulled  
the trigger until his gun was empty.  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Finally got this part over with. Hope you like it! ^^v  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	14. Chapter 13

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.13  
  
Noin hurriedly parked the car in the underground parking lot of the  
compound. Under normal circumstances, her driving would have been  
called reckless, but she doubted things at the compound were normal.  
  
She and Lady Une had gone out to get pizza for everybody. For  
security reasons, the pilots had decided that delivery was out of  
the question. So they drew straws, with Noin and Lady Une pulling the  
short ones.  
  
Once they were in the pizza place, Lady Une remembered the Mariemaia  
had asked for a cheese and mushroon one with extra mushrooms, but she  
hadn't said if she wanted a personal one of the children's combo.  
  
So she called the compound, and got no answer. She tried four times  
more before she tried the other numbers. When the security guards at   
the entrance didn't answer, she voiced her concern to Noin.  
  
And so they returned, to find a scene which sent Noin flashbacking  
to Lake Victoria. Surprisingly, the few guards they had checked were  
still alive, though badly hurt. They could only hope the rest were in  
the same condition.  
  
They ran to Relena's room expecting the worse.  
  
Everyone was, apparently, still alive. And all were ignoring the  
obviously dead, bleeding body in the middle of the room.  
  
Quatre looked up from where he and Duo were tending Relena and  
Wufei.  
  
"Is your radio working?" the Arabian asked. When Noin nodded he  
continued. "Good. Tell Sally get here as fast as possible, with as  
much help as she can!"  
  
When Noin left the room, Lady Une turned to Heero.  
  
The Japanese boy was being held in Mariemaia's lap. his eyes were  
closed, but he seemed to be muttering something.  
  
"How is he?" She asked the girl.  
  
Mariemaia looked up at her and shook her head.  
  
"He's in some sort of shock." Trowa said. "He was programmed in  
a certain way and it seems he acted against his programming."  
  
Lady Une sighed, kneeled in front of Heero and took his hand.  
  
Heero's eyes snapped open and looked around himself in fear.  
  
"I killed him..." He muttered "I killed him... I wasn't suppossed  
to... I didn't mean to... but I did... I just wanted him to stop..."  
  
Lady Une froze. She was afraid that any sudden moves would make him  
bolt like a scared rabbit.  
  
"It's okay," Mariemaia whispered soothingly, her hold on the pilot  
tightening. "It's over... You had to do it. No one will hurt you  
again..." She buried her face in his hair, "We're free..."  
  
"Free?" Heero asked softly. Mariemaia nodded against him.  
  
Heero sighed and closed his eyes. After a while, his breathing  
evened out.  
  
"Does this mean you recovered him?" Lady Une asked softky.  
  
"I'm not sure." Mariemaia said, shaking her head. "it will now  
depend on his will to live."  
  
"Then that's it." Duo said softly, "We've lost him. Heero has no  
will to live."  
  
"NO!" Mariemaia turned to the braided pilot. Tears started to build  
in her eyes. "We can't." She looked down and wiped her eyes. "I know  
he doesn't hold much value for his life... it's what Dekim taught him.  
But... there has to be something... something he'll want to live for."  
  
Sally walked into the room followed by two medics. After surveying  
the scene, she was unsure on who should she tend first.  
  
Relena tried to stand but Quatre stopped her.  
  
"See to Heero first." She said softly, "He was hurt more than I was."  
  
Sally knelt to check on Heero.  
  
"He doesn't have any visible injuries. "She said then turned to   
look at Relena. "And it looks like you were shot twice."  
  
"The bullets went through cleanly," Relena explained. "Quatre and  
Duo have already taken care of the wounds. But Heero... Mariemaia says  
he was hit the worst."  
  
Sally turned to the red-haired girl, who nodded.  
  
"Alright. I'll take care of him." Sally signaled the two medics,  
who carefully placed Heero on a gurney and left the room, followed by  
Mariemaia.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"So, how many did he kill?" Lady Une asked Sally in the hospital.  
  
"Just one." Sally asked, "Dekim. All the security guards are surprisingly  
alive. The only guard that remained unscathed is the one that was  
taking care of the cat that caused the initial alarm. She says that  
Heero was about to attack her, saw the cat in her arms and left the  
room."  
  
"Weird," Lady Une muttered and Sally nodded, "How's Relena?"  
  
"I'll be able to release her in two days. The bullet went through  
cleanly, like she said. They'll leave no scars."  
  
"What about Heero?" Mariemaia asked.  
  
"A few broken ribs, courtesy of Mr. Dekim Barton." Sally told her.  
"We were able to stop the internal bleeding, so he's out of danger.  
The problem is his mind. The nanochip in his spine shortcircuited  
after he broke through his programming. I cannot remove it without  
causing more damage than it has already done." She sighed, "He slipped  
into a coma during surgery, and he doesn't show signs of waking up  
soon."  
  
"I see..." Mariemaia whispered, then looked up at Lady Une, "Can I  
go see him?"  
  
"Sure." Sally answered, "He's at the end of the hall."  
  
Mariemaia shivered when she saw Heero strapped to all the monitors.  
She wiped the tears that had started to form on her eyes and gathered  
all the courage she could. She had to be strong for him. She had to be  
strong for everyone.  
  
She sat on the bed and took his hand.  
  
"Heero," She said softly, "What will it take for you to value your  
life and come back?" She placed her head on his chest and fell asleep,  
listening to his heartbeat.  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Hmmm... 'shortcircuited'... does that word exist, or did I just make it  
up?  
  
And so, this is how we got to the place where the fanfic starts. More  
the title character on the next chapter! ^ ^x  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Yuy Ayanami  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	15. Chapter 14

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Warnings?: Heero's acting OCC  
  
Hatikva Ch.14  
  
  
Mariemaia stayed with Heero for three weeks. People came and went:  
Relena, Duo, Zechs, trowa, Quatre... but she stayed.  
  
His last visitor had been Mrs Noventa and Sylvia. They had stayed  
in contact with the Japanese boy, so either Relena or Lady Une must have  
informed them of the situation. They talked to Heero, just like  
everyone else had done, but the boy wouldn't respond.  
  
After they had left, Mariemaia was about to cry when she felt a   
hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Why are you sad?" She heard a female voice.  
  
"Huh?" Mariemaia turned to find a young woman with bright green   
eyes and long light brown hair, "Who are you?" She asked warily, "I didn't  
hear you come in."  
  
"I didn't came through the door." The woman answered. "My name is  
Hatikva, but you know me by another name."  
  
"Hope?" Mariemaia asked, remembering what Quatre had once told her.  
"But I don't know you. Why do you say I do?"  
  
"Look in your heart and you'll know." The woman answered with a soft  
smile.  
  
Mariemaia glared at the woman. Her clothes certainly reminded her  
of something. And the brightness of her eyes... looking into them  
Mariemaia realized that it wasn't natural yet it was familiar. The  
woman somehow reminder her of Heero and at the same time it reminder  
her of... but it couldn't be... it was simply impossible. And still...  
  
"You're Wing ZERO?" Mariemaia asked softly touching the woman's  
hand.  
  
"More or less..." The woman answered.  
  
"Are you here because of him?" Mariemaia asked, turning to look at  
Heero.  
  
"Yes..." Hatikva said, "I think I might be able to help... but I  
need your permission."  
  
"My permission?"  
  
"You're the person closest to him, closer than Relena." Hatikva sat  
on the bed, "So I want your permission to go into him, search for him  
and convince him to come back." She smiled. "Besides I know Relena  
wouldn't allow me to do that."  
  
"I wouldn't allow you either..." Mariemaia said. "If I didn't  
believe who you are. Are you sure you can do it?"  
  
"Go in and find him? Yes." Hatikva answered, "But I cannot force   
him to come back, or he might become suicidal. I have to convince him...   
it has to be his choice..." She put her hands on Mariemaia's shoulders  
and looked into her eyes. "The only thing I can promise is that I will  
do my best."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"And so, here I am," Hatikva said, stroking Heero's hair.  
  
The boy was still shaking from what she had shown him. He could  
only remember a couple of things from his re-training, so he hadn't  
realized the full extent of what he had done under Dekim's control.  
  
"After what I did, you want me to go back?" He asked softly.  
  
"You were under Dekim's control." Hatikva replied, "They understand  
that."  
  
"They won't forgive me." Heero shook his head. "I'm supposed to be  
the Perfect Soldier... and yet, I allowed myself to be captured and  
brainwashed by Dekim... I could have fought harder than I did... I..."  
He stopped when Hatikva slapped him.  
  
"You were programmed to obey Dekim." Hatikva said sharply. Heero  
winced at her tone, so she lowered it. "You couldn't have done  
anything. You put up as much resistance as you were able to."  
  
Heero pressed his palms against his temple as his head started to  
throb. He wondered in the back of his mind, how could he have a   
headache if he was in a coma.  
  
"You were never the Perfect Soldier." Hatikva continued, "Dr. J  
made sure of that."  
  
"Then why do I enjoy killing?" Heero asked softly, "I enjoy the  
battles, and the taste of blood doesn't bother me at all..."  
  
"Really?" Hatikva interrupted. "Why do you have nightmares? Why did  
you go to Sylvia Noventa?" She looked into his eyes, "Why do the  
innocents you killed still haunt you?" She took his shoulders but  
looked down, "Tell me. Why did my death drove you to try to commit  
suicide, when you were supposed to be a ruthless killer?"  
  
"I don't know..." Heero whispered, his voice threatening to break,  
"I don't..." He felt the tears build in his eyes and he wiped them.  
He stared at the moisture on his fingers, "I... I don't want to hurt  
anyone but... no matter how hard I try, I always do..." He leaned  
against Hatikva, burying his face on her shoulder so that she wouldn't  
see his tears, "It seems like it's my nature..."  
  
Hatikva sighed and wrapped her arms and wings around the boy. She  
started to sing while slowly rocking back and forth.  
  
this gesture of kindness and care was enough to make Heero break  
down and cry openly.  
  
  
  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Ok, not much to say. Just that I hope you enjoy it!! ^^x  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Heero Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Ayanami Shinihara  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	16. Chapter 15

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
  
Hatikva Ch.15  
  
Outside Heero's mind, in the hospital room, Mariemaia felt that  
something had changed in the general atmosphere, and woke up.  
  
She lifted herself from where she had fallen asleep on Heero's chest  
to look at his face, and smiled when she saw the tears in his eyes.  
  
Hatikva was somehow getting through the boy's thickheadedness.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
In the Preventers' main Mobile Suit hangar, the five scientists were  
running diagnostic tests on the white and blue, angel-winged Gundam,  
under Lady Une's watchful eye.  
  
"So, Quatre says Wing ZERO activated itself," Dr. J stated, "Twenty-  
four hours ago."  
  
"And has remained on standby ever since." Instructor H said. "You've  
told us yourself that after the Eve Wars, the ZERO System only allowed  
Heero Yuy to pilot it." He added, feeling that Quatre was being   
accused of something.  
  
"The ZERO System has reponded to both Quatre and Mariemaia when  
Heero is concerned." Dr. J reminded his co-workers. He turned to H and  
grinned. "I'm not accusing Quatre of anything. I know Heero can access  
the System even when they're on different colonies." He turned back to  
the monitor he was watching and pressed some buttons, "This could be  
one of those cases. No matter how much I study it, the relationship  
between Heero and the System is beyond my understanding... now what's  
this?" He zoomed in on one of the charts.  
  
"Are those the System's signal waves?" Master O asked, easily  
looking over J's shoulder. "They look like human brain wave patterns."  
  
"They're originating from the System's core." J said turning to look  
at the Wing ZERO. "Interesting... could it's contact with Heero be  
turning it more like a human brain and less like a computer?"  
  
"It may be unscientific," Proffesor G shoved his hands in his lab  
coat's pockets and also looked at the Gundam, "It seems to me as if the  
Wing Gundam ZERO is housing a human soul."  
  
The other four nodded, accepting G's theory.  
  
"Could it be Heero Yuy's?" Dr. S asked. "After all, no one has been  
able to get him to respond."  
  
"It's not Heero." J answered, taking a look at the monitor. "These  
do not resemble his brainwave patterns."  
  
"Then whose soul is housed in the ZERO System's core?" Lady Une  
asked. She couldn't get out of her head what Mariemaia had said about  
Wing using the System to go to Heero.  
  
"I think I have an idea," J grinned, "Though my guess is as good  
as anyone's."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
After half an hour Heero calmed down enough to speak.  
  
"How are they?" He asked softly, refusing to leave the winged girl's  
warm embrace.  
  
"Relena and the pilots were released three or four days later."   
Hatikva answered stroking the boy's back. "Relena visits you for an  
hour or two every day. The guys take turns to come. And the only times  
Mariemaia leaves your side is to go to the bathroom."  
  
"Why?" Heero looked up into her Gundam green eyes. In their  
reflection he could see that his own were red from all his crying  
"Why do they keep coming back?"  
  
"Because they care about you. Relena and Mariemaia are particularly  
worried about you." Hatikva said with a slight smile. "You know  
neither of them would stand loosing you."  
  
"I understand them. They need me as much as I need them..." He  
looked down "At least that's what I want to believe, I probably need  
them more... but I want to protect Relena and I'm afraid Mariemaia will  
become like me if I leave her alone." He ruffled Mary's fur and looked  
at Hatikva. "But I don't understand why they care about me, if I  
always end up hurting them... I don't want to hurt anyone... I don't  
want to suffer anymore..."  
  
"Suffering is part of being human." Hatikva said, "Even in times of  
peace, children suffer the death of a pet, people suffer the loss of  
a loved one through illness or accident. There's no way to prevent  
that."  
  
"I know that..." Heero whispered, "But why do people have to get  
hurt because of me."  
  
"All I know is that people get hurt for different reasons and you  
believe it's your fault, even when it's not." Hatikva answered,  
"You'll have to unlearn some of the things that were drilled into  
you. You'll have to learn to control your emotions. Otherwise, when  
your friends get hurt, you won't be able to do anything." She released  
the boy, stood and offered him her hand. "Are you ready to go back?"  
  
Heero stayed where he was, looking at the grass. After a while he  
spoke. "Will you help me?" He looked up. "Will you teach me?"  
  
"We have a couple of things to do first," Hatikva smiled, "Then  
we'll give Mary a new home."  
  
Heero smiled and took her hand. The moment he did, he was enveloped  
by a blinding silver light, then darkness.  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
Once again, I have not much to say, except that sorry if it's a bit  
confusing, and that I think the five scientists are like roaches: no  
matter how much you try to get rid of them, they always come back.  
That's why they're alive in this fic.  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Heero Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Ayanami Shinohara  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	17. Chapter 16

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
  
Hatikva Ch.16  
  
It was dark. Pitch black. But when he looked down he clearly saw  
his hands. He could also see Hatikva, despite the darkness.  
  
"Where's Mary?" Was the first thing he thought to ask.  
  
"We'll have to look for her later," The girl answered, "Come. We  
still have to pick someone before we head back."  
  
Heero hurried up after her, not wanting to loose her in the  
darkness.  
  
After a while they walked up to a war-torn city. He froze when he  
recognized the ruins. It was the apartment complex where Hatikva had  
died.  
  
"Heero..." Hatikva said, "This isn't easy for me, either."  
  
"Where exactly are we?" Heero asked softly, "It looks like somewhere  
inside me."  
  
"This is where your guilt lies." She made her way through the  
rubble, looking for something. She finally popped up from behind a   
fallen wall. "Come here." She called the pilot.  
  
Heero reluctantly walked towards her and found himself staring at a  
young boy who looked exactly like himself.  
  
The boy was curled up against the wall, trembling, clearly afraid.  
  
"Is he... Is he a part of myself?" Heero asked softly.  
  
"He was the part of you that Dekim tried to kill." Hatikva  
answered. She noticed that the boy cringed at the mention of the dead  
man's name. "Relena and Mariemaia had managed to make him loose his  
fear and come out, but... the recent..." She trailed off, trying to  
find an appropiate word, "incident, made him panic and hide deeper  
within you."  
  
"I always come back here, don't I?" Heero said, kneeling in front  
of the child. He extended his hand, palm up.  
  
"It's the safest place to hide." Hatikva answered. "After all, no  
one would think to look for you in the place you suffered the most."  
  
Heero nodded. How true it was.  
  
The child looked at Heero's empty hand. His eyes moved to Hatikva  
and again to Heero. He stopped trembling, yet his eyes still showed  
fear.  
  
"Is she an angel?" The child asked Heero.  
  
"More or less." Heero answered with small smile, "She's going to  
take us home."  
  
"Home?" The boy asked, "Where's home?" The boy looked away from   
Heero, tears pooling in his eyes. "Odin didn't care. He died and left  
me alone... everyone else just wants to hurt me... some even try to  
kill me..."  
  
"I know..." Heero whispered, "I understand..." He took the boy's  
hand, "But the people we met on Earth... they want to help us... even  
when it's hard for me to accept their help... " He trailed off, not  
knowing what else to say. "Dekim's dead." He finally said. "He won't  
hurt us anymore." He offered his other hand to the child.  
  
"Is the angel lady coming with us?"  
  
Hatikva knelt next to Heero and smiled. "Sure. After all, you two   
are the reason I'm still alive."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Mariemaia's eyes snapped open when she felt Heero's hand twitch.  
She looked up and saw Hatikva standing next to her.  
  
The winged girl's hand moved to touch the boy's cheek while her  
green eyes turned to Mariemaia.  
  
"Did you do it?" the red-haired girl asked. "Is he coming back?"  
  
"He is." Hatikva smiled, "Just let him sleep a bit. What we went  
through was very exhausting, even when he got to nap a couple of  
times..." She yawned. It was more a reflex than a real need, "I'm  
tired too, I'm going back to the hangar to rest."  
  
"Won't you be here when he wakes up?" Mariemaia said, "He'll  
probably expect you to be here."  
  
"I'll know when he's ready to wake up." Hatikva smiled while  
stretching her wings, "You should rest too..."  
  
Mariemaia jumped from the bed, "Would you wait up for me?" She   
asked, "I'll go tell Lady Une so that she tells the others. I'll be  
back soon."  
  
Hatikva nodded and turned her attention back to the sleeping boy.  
  
"You'll see Heero," She whispered, "A lot of people care about you."  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Dr. J was alone in the hangar, the other scientist having gone to  
grab lunch. He looked at the angel-winged Gundam, feeling a little sad  
because he hadn't participated in it's constrution or it's upgrading.  
Though he had been involved in it's original design, all the credit  
went to Quatre, Heero and a handful of technicians.  
  
"Did you know you are Heero's vision of what the Gundams should  
have been?" He said loudly, before he realized he was talking to a  
machine. He laughed out loud when he noticed what he was doing and  
decided to continue. After all, Heero talked to Wing all the time. "I  
would love to know what's going on inside you. To see which ghost   
from Heero's past decided to protect him instead of haunt him."  
  
He heard footsteps and he turned to the entrance. It was Meyers,  
the engineer who had worked in the reconstruction of the original  
Wing, and had later helped Heero with the re-design of Wing ZERO.  
  
"Still active?" Meyers stood next to the scientist. When Dr. J  
nodded, he shook his head and shivered. "It gives me the creeps."  
After a long silence, he continued, "Lady Une called and left you a  
message. She says that Heero will be waking up soon."  
  
"Looks like she did it." Dr. J grinned looking at the Gundam's face.  
  
"'She', sir?" Meyers also looked up. "You mean the Wing ZERO?"  
  
"The spirit within Wing ZERO." Dr. J turned to Meyers, "It feels  
right to refer to Wing ZERO as female, doesn't it?" He shoved his hands  
in his lab coat and turned his back to the Gundam, "Despite the fact  
that we created the ZERO System, we only understand a fraction of it."  
He started walking out of the hangar, "Tell Lady Une I'll be returning  
to L-1. Considering the fact that I was somehow responsibloe for what  
happened, I doubt Heero will want to see my face for a while."  
  
"What about Wing ZERO? What if she keeps acting weird?" Meyers  
asked.  
  
"Heero trusts you are able to handle any situation, so that's enough  
for me." With that Dr. J ended the conversation and left the hangar.  
  
"It may be true," Meyers said to himself, "But Heero never said what  
I should do if Wing ZERO started moving on it's own." He looked again  
at the Gundam, "Don't think on walking around by yourself." He told  
the Gundam, before leaving the hangar.  
  
  
************To be continued**********  
  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Heero Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Ayanami Shinohara  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	18. Chapter 17

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Ch.17  
  
It was dark. Again. But this time the darkness was warm. What was it about   
dead people and darkness? Heero thought.  
  
He could hear someone humming in the distance. It was the same song that  
Hatikva had sang earlier to him. He decided that the best thing to do was to  
simply follow it to it's source.  
  
After a while, he found himself in Wing ZERO's cockpit, flying between   
Earth and the moon. Then he became Wing ZERO. Looking around he saw Hatikva  
flying to his right, Relena on his left and Mariemaia above him. He had  
to laugh out loud.  
  
He was dreaming.  
  
  
*********************************  
  
"I wonder what he's dreaming about." Mariemaia said looking at Heero's  
serene face. "Probably something silly, like the things I usually dream."  
  
"And what were you dreaming just now?" Hatikva stopped singing long enough  
to ask.  
  
"I was stupid, really." Mariemaia answered, blushing a bit, "Someone was  
singing the song you're singing. Relena, Heero and you were in it too. We  
were mobile suits, and looking for the origin of the song."  
  
"That's funny... I was dreaming the same thing..." Hatikva was   
thoughtful.  
  
"You sleep?" Somehow, Mariemaia found strange the idea of a sleeping mobile  
suit.  
  
"Sleeping is a need of the mind, too. Not only of the body." Hatikva smiled.  
  
"But it wasn´t your voice singing... it was someone else's."  
  
"That song is one of the few memories Heero has of his mother... or at least  
someone close to him."  
  
¨She has a nice voice..." Mariemaia looked at Heero, "I wonder if we'll ever  
met her." She turned to Hatikva. "What about you? Will you stick around forever?"  
  
"As long as he needs me," The wing girl answered," Which might be forever."  
She added with a smile.  
  
Mariemaia's eyes narrowed a bit. "Just keep in mind that he's my big brother  
and you'll have to answer to me."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." Hatikva reassured her, wondering if the red-haired  
girl didn't have a crush on the japanese pilot. She wouldn't be surprised  
though. He had that effect on people, even when he was at his most  
intimidating.  
  
Her mind would have delved deeper into the subject but the ddor opened and  
Sally walked in, followed by Quatre and Lady Une. The women looked warily at  
the strange girl. Quatre smiled at her and bowed.  
  
"Thanks for bringing him back to us." The arabian pilot said.  
  
Hatikva bowed back, "You don't have to thank me." She answered.  
  
"Who is she?" Sally asked Quatre, "Does she have a clearance to be here?"  
  
"Oh yes. I forgot." Quatre smiled sheepeshly. "Sally, Miss Une, this is  
Wing."  
  
"Wing? Heero's Gundam?" Lady Une looked over the girl, who wore a black   
kimono embroidered with gold and silver feathers and tied with a violet obi.   
On her forehead was a small green jewel. "You don't look like a   
Gundam at all."  
  
"That's the idea." Hatikva replied.  
  
In the mean time, Mariemaia found the conversation funny and was trying hard  
not to giggle loud. Specially since she was only who had noticed was   
Heero was burningholes through everyone with invisible lasers from his glaring eyes.  
  
"Look," the japanese said, when the arguing wether Hatikva was a Gundam or  
not continued, "I understand you're concerned about my health and safety, but  
could you take your discussion outside? I'm trying to sleep."  
  
"Heero..." Lady Une started, but was interrupted by Quatre who started to  
drag her out.  
  
"I'll talk with him." Quatre said as he went after Sally. "I'll go with you  
later." He closed the door, leaned on it and turned to Heero, smiling, "How  
are you feeling?"  
  
"Drowsy." Heero replied and stretched. "But I believe I'll be out in a couple  
of days." He looked around and finnaly looked out the window. The cloudless sky  
was so clear that it matched the shade of Dorothy's eyes. 'Why did she pop up?'  
Heero thought suddenly, 'Mariemaia's eyes are the same shade.' "Where are we?"  
he asked instead.  
  
"At the Preventers' hospital in the Sanc Kingdom." Mariemaia answered, and  
Heero just nodded.  
  
Mariemaia, Hatikva and Quatre looked at each other, then Quatre thought to  
ask cautiously, "Do you remember anything?"  
  
"Other than What Wing showed me?" Heero continued staring outside. On the  
branch of a tree, a black cat was licking her paws. "A little. Mostly it's  
Dekim beating me up. and there was this constant humming... must have been on  
a colony." he turned suddenly and fixed his gaze on Quatre, "But don't ask  
me to show you the way, 'cause I don't remember."  
  
"It's probably better that way." Quatre said and Heero nodded.  
  
"HEERO!" They heard someone on the other side of the door.  
  
"Relena..." Heero groaned. he wanted to sleep more, but with the Vice  
Foreing Minister in the room, it was going to be impossible. He could already  
imagine her glomping him...  
  
"I'll take care of her," Quatre put his hand on the knob. "You get some rest  
and we'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"'Kay." Heero started to get comfortable under the blanket.  
  
"And you," Quatre turned to Mariemaia, "You should go home now and prepare  
for school."  
  
"Her classes start next week, Mr. Winner." Hatikva smiled, "You shouldn't  
worry about such things."  
  
"Alright." Quatre nodded and prepared to leave, when he remembered something  
else, "Oh, and Heero, Lady Une plans to order you on vacation when you're out."  
  
"Knowing them, Dr J is probably enrolling me in a school as far away from  
any Preventers' base as possible." Heero sighed and Mariemaia giggled. He turned  
to Quatre and glared at him. "We're Gundam pilots. We fought a war and saved the  
world. Why do we still have legal guardians?"  
  
"Being able to to fend off for ourselves doesn´t change the fact that we're  
still underage in the eyes of the law." Quatre answered. Before he opened the  
door, he smiled warmly at Heero, "Welcome back."  
  
Heero watched Quatre leave, heard Relena protest about not being able to see  
him, then turned again to the window. "Somehow I thought I was still in the   
colony." He finally said as his mind registered that there was a sharp division   
between mountains and sky, and that no ground curved upwards. The cat on the   
tree was looking at him now. Their eyes met, "That cat... her gaze's familiar.."  
  
"She was at the compound when you attacked." Hatikva answered, "She tripped  
the alarms and you used that to get in. She was recently adopted by a   
private called Jono."  
  
The cat meowed softly and jumped down the tree. Heero yawned then sighed.  
He knew he was going to have nightmares for at least two months. And he just  
knew he was going to have a hard time getting back to what he had as a   
slightly normal life.  
  
He looked at Mariemaia who was beaming at him and at Wing who simply  
nodded. And he knew that the answer was a simple one. He had many friends  
willing to help. He just had to discard his pride and training to   
accept it.  
  
  
*********To be continued**********  
  
finally finished. I know, I suck at dream sequences. And there's   
still one more  
chapter left to go.  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Heero Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Ayanami Shinohara Gowa  
Recently self-appointed Preventer Wing  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


	19. Final Chapter

Standard disclaimers: you all know them.  
  
Hatikva Finale  
  
New Year's eve at Colony C-1013 of the L-1 cluster was a bright and  
colorful festival, rivaled only by the New Year's celebration of the L-5  
colony cluster. Even during the Alliance occupation, the citizen's  
celebrated New Year in their centuries old tradition.  
  
Heero walked to the window of his small apartment. A smiled crept to  
his face when he saw the paper lanterns lighting the street and the  
various smell of incense crept through the open window. One of his   
fondest memories of his time with Odin Lowe, was of the man taking  
time off from training, to allow the boy to enjoy himself at the festival  
booths.  
  
"What do you think?" Mariemaia asked coming out of his bedroom, with  
Hatikva and Lady Une standing behind her.  
  
The red-haired girl started modeling a lavender kimono with white  
bunnies printed all over it, tied by a forest green obi. She held a round  
paper fan with the same color and design of the kimono.  
  
Hatikva was wearing the black kimono she had worn the day Heero had  
woken up while Lady Une decided that she could dress casually, so she  
wore jeans and her Preventers uniform jacket over a white blouse.  
  
"You look cute." Heero answered with a smile. Then a shiver ran up his  
spine.  
  
Relena had said that she would also wear a kimono. Knowing the  
Vice Foreing Minister's taste, Heero could guess it was going to be pink.  
And Heero was starting to hate pink.  
  
"You look cute, too." Mariemaia said, "But can't you wear different  
colors?"  
  
Heero glanced at his black japanese trousers and olive green kimono  
shirt (you know, like the ones in samurai movies). "I happen to like  
black and green." He retorted and walked to the door, "Come on, the others  
are probably at the meeting place."  
  
****************************  
  
"Here they come." Duo smiled upon seeing the quartet, "Finally." He  
waved to them, "What kept you guys? You know it's the host who should be  
waiting for his guests, not the other way around." he stopped talking  
long enough to examine their clothing, then looked over at Relena and  
finally studied Heero, "Wow! You guys look like you sprung out of Rurouni  
Kenshin or Ninja Scroll or Sakura Wars! You're only missing a sword,  
Heero!"  
  
"Shut up, Duo." Heero growled.  
  
"Man!" Duo pouted, "You were nice and all for a week, then went back  
to your regular, grouchy self. Looks like your personality had nothing  
to do that chip in your head. It broke down and you're still same." He  
placed his hands behind his head. "I still wonder what bug bit you,  
since it was your idea to invite us to come to this festival and..."  
  
"Duo..." Heero glared at the braided pilot, his tone more menacing.  
  
"You're no fun..." Duo muttered under his breath.  
  
Heero smiled inwardly. It HAD been his idea to invite everyone to the  
festival, but it was mostly because he couldn't think of a better way  
to thank them for their support. He still wasn't good with that kind of  
words.  
  
The other pilots were there, so were Relena, Catherine, Sally and  
Heero's new classmate, Dorothy.  
  
"What's keeping Hilde?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Dunno." Duo answered, "Either Zxyu lost his favorite pair of Death  
Boxers (tm) or he still refuses to eat Nataku Rolls with chopsticks."  
  
"It's Dragon Rolls." Wufei corrected angrily. "Leave Nataku out of your  
jokes."  
  
"Noin and Zechs are also missing." Relena said looking around.   
  
And speaking of the devil... they all saw Noin, literally draging  
Zechs a couple of blocks away. Hilde and Zxyu were calmly walking   
behind them.  
  
"I can't be seen in public!" Zechs was protesting. "I'm supposed to be  
dead!"  
  
"Come on, Zechs," Noin said, "No one's going to notice. Besides, it  
isn't very often that Heero invites the whole gang to a japanese   
festival."  
  
"Dead people don't complaint," Heero told him, "And if you don't shut  
up, you will be. Let's go before I start having second thoughts about all  
this."  
  
He started walking towards the temple, ten blocks away, not bothering  
to look if the others were following. He simply wanted to get there.  
  
Here he was, in New Year's, with his friends and comrades, his 'little  
sister', the girl he liked (Although it would be sometime before he  
gathered enough courage to tell her anything, and he hoped she didn't  
skewer him when he does), his Gundam, and he felt insanely happy, even  
when his face featured an eternal scowl.  
  
A small yelp broke him out of his thoughts and he turned to the window   
of a petstore. On the other side, a brown puppy was standing on her hind  
legs, front paws against the glass, and her tail wagging so wildly that  
she almost flew.  
  
"Mary?" Heero asked, kneeling to look into the puppy's eyes.  
  
"Mary!" Hatikva beamed and the puppy yelped again. "It's you! No wonder  
we couln't find you. You were born a few weeks ago!" She ran into the  
store and moments later walked out with the pupy on a leash.  
  
"Who's going to keep her?" Mariemaia asked, hoping Heero wasn't allowed  
to keep pets in his apartment, so that she could have the puppy.  
  
"She can't stay in the hangar with Wing..." Heero was thoughtful, as  
he reviewed the apartment rules. "I'm am allowed to keep a small pet, and  
Mary doesn't look like she'll grow much, so I guess she'll stay with me."  
He took the leash and continued walking, with Mary half-running,  
half-jumping besides him. "I'll have to get her a bowl, a basket to sleep  
in, a blanket... I think I'll find those at the fair, cheaper than in a  
store..."  
  
"He acts like has not a care in the world." Duo said suddenly, watching  
Heero's back, "He's changed a lot from when I first met him."  
  
"That's because it finally hit him that he has a family and he's finally  
free." Dorothy answered, "But he's still the same Heero."  
  
"Huh?" Duo was clueless, "I guess I'll never understand him."  
  
"You don't have to," Hatikva walked besides Duo, "Just be the friend  
you've always been." She ran towards the japanese pilot and glomped him,  
"Wait for me, will you!"  
  
"Hey!" Mariemaia protested, "He's mine!" and also grabbed Heero.  
  
"I knew him first." Hatikva stuck out her tongue at Mariemaia.  
  
"That doesn't mean anything." Mariemaia answered likewise.  
  
As they all continued walking while the two girls argued over Heero's  
ownership, without asking Relena for her opinions, Dorothy smiled  
suddenly.  
  
"Yes..." She whispered, "He has changed a lot. Trying to win him will  
prove interesting indeed..."  
  
*************FIN********************  
  
YES! I finished my first GW fanfic!  
Bet you all thought I forgot about Mary.  
Hope you have all enjoyed this fic. I might consider writing some other  
things later.  
  
Blackthorn Hiei Heero Yamato Iori Hibiki Sagara Ayanami Shinohara Gowa  
Recently self-appointed Preventer Wing  
Warrior Spirit of the Quetzal bird  
Keeper of the Xiuhcoatl, the Turquoise Snake sword  
Guardian of Quetzalcoatl's tailfeathers  
Guardian of Wing ZERO's feathers  
Guardian of Heero's deadly beam-spork 


End file.
